NEWS
Page 4 METRO ezasegagasini
24 June– 07 July 2022
Bright future ahead for furniture making graduates
GUGU MDLALOSE THE CITY has an Emergency Mobilising and Communi- cations Centre which is a 24-hour emergency centre housed within the Municipal Disaster Management Cen- tre at 3 Jelf Taylor Crescent. The centre receives calls for life threatening emergen- cies, including bylaw related infringements. This includes mobilising resources to report incidents that require quick responses by the Fire Service, Metro Police, or Disaster Management response teams. The public are urged to use the emergency communi- cation centre meaningfully. Over the past two years, the emergency line has received 6 724 prank calls and 1 1530 non-emergency calls. Prank and non-emergency callers’ place lives in danger as emergency services are di- verted to those areas which limits help to those who are in genuine need of critical emergency assistance. Residents are urged not to clog the emergency call cen- tre with hoax calls or issues not related to any emergen- cy as it will delay services. City warns of hoax calls to the emergency call centre
NONDUDUZO NGCONGO THERE was happiness all around on 10 June when 26 trainees from the Furniture Making Class of 2021/22 graduated after a year of training. The training was facilitated by eThekwini Municipality’s Business Support, Tourism, Markets and Agri-Business Unit, in collaboration with the My Space Academy and Fibre Processing and Manu- facturing. The graduation took place at the Municipality’s Um- khumbane Entrepreneurial Support Centre which offers manufacturing space to local SMMEs and where the training was facilitated. The NQF level two grad- uates are skilled in making various furniture and uphol- stery such as headboards, couches, tables, coffee tables and many other prod- ucts. As part of the training, all participants received a monthly stipend with partners facilitating access to market opportunities
just lost his job. The couple have four children.
“When we heard about this initiative, we applied and we were both accept- ed. We took full advantage of the opportunity. We are now proud owners of Fuze Elimhlophe Trading Project. We work together and work very well in the business. We exhibited in last year’s Durban Business Fair and are looking forward to many more opportunities,” said Ngcobo. The couple has been suc- cessful with their business venture. “This is a great self-employ- ment opportunity that does not need much starting capital. Together with my husband, we saved our stipend money and walk to school so we could use that cash to buy tools and other equipment for our compa- ny.” The intake for the class of 2022/23 will be advertised in due course. nonduduzo.ngcongo@durban.gov.za
There was dancing and smiles all around as the furniture making class graduated recently.
Picture: SUPPLIED
for the trainees. Some of them are already working on contracts through such linkages. Thobisile Ngcobo, 34,
from Chersterville, gradu- ated from the programme together with her husband Nqobile Ngcobo. She said the initiative saved
them from the hardship they were facing at the time. She said she had been look- ing for a job for a very long time and her husband had
Graduates effect positive change at their businesses
Business Accelerator Programme empowers Black female-owned business
PRIAH DASS THE CITY’S Industry Development Programmes Department (IDPD) honoured 400 graduates at its inaugural Skills Development graduation. The hybrid ceremony saw individuals from the Durban Automotive Cluster, Durban Chemicals Cluster, KZN Clothing and Textile Cluster, and the eThekwini Furniture Cluster recognised. They were honoured for the practical changes they implemented at their companies with skills they learnt during the programme. The graduation recognised learners’ outcomes, with individuals empowered to make small changes with huge impact on their companies. Chris Ngcobo and Natalie Kotze were recognised as two of the top graduates who used the skills development programme to save millions. This was through innovative change management systems for their respective companies. perfectly exemplified his skill training application by taking the theory he learnt and converting it into company relevant, practical implementation. Chris Ngcobo, from Deneb Investments,
He managed to reduce more than half the oil consumed by his department, resulting in a 75 percent cost saving for the company. Ngcobo concluded his presentation by listing his recently acquired personal key learnings which include project management skills, change management, improved task delegation and cost management. By successfully implementing all the skills he learned through the programme, both he and his team were able to reduce oil consumption to just one barrel per week, saving the business over half a million rand annually. Natalie Kotze, from Bell Equipment, demonstrated similar positive outcomes
when she presented her project on reducing the machining time for specific tubes. Not only did she improve efficiencies, reduce late deliveries, and save time and space, but she also led her team through the valuable process of change management. She and her team were able to reduce the time to manufacture a tube by 43 percent and free up 94.5 hours of team capacity to focus on machining other parts. The IDPD falls under the City’s Economic Development Unit and works to facilitates the stimulation and growth of priority sectors. This is done by providing city-wide support to targeted economic sectors.
PRIAH DASS XO COLLECTION, a 100 percent black female-owned clothing manufacturer in Durban has received a boost from the Small and Medium Enterprises Business Accelerator Programme. The company, which specialises in high-end fashion and corporate wear (including medical wear), secured a letter of intent (LOI) from Durban Overall, a large workwear manufacturer. The Business Accelerator Programme is supported by the City’s Economic De- velopment Unit’s Industry Development Programmes Department (IDPD) and is facilitated by the Kwa- Zulu-Natal Clothing and Textile Cluster (KZN CTC). Within a few months of signing the LOI, XO Collec- tion began producing a bulk order of combat workwear shirts totalling around 4 500 units. Since then, they were able to: • Increase their revenue between FY20 and FY21 by 30%. • Increase their sales vol- ume by 150%. • Increase total employ- ment from 15 (January 2021) to 20 (December 2021) (including fixed term contractors) – 30%
A 100 percent black female-owned business is growing following interventions from the City. Picture: SUPPLIED
increase in employment. • Rearrange factory layout to accommodate addi- tional production lines to allow for increased volumes. • Become National Bargain- ing Council compliant and improve staff pay rates towards compliance levels. XO Collection was found- ed by Xoliswa Hlongwane, who is a qualified Char- tered Accountant, in 2018. She joined the KZN CTC Business Accelerator Pro- gramme in 2021 and after demonstrating potential to a panel of large customers, unlocked the opportunity to supply Durban Overall. Hlongwane said their
business had grown since joining the incubator pro- gramme. “We are embarking on a phased expansion programme and cannot wait to see where our business will be in the medium term. Thank you for this amazing opportunity,” she said. The incubator programme aims to connect high-poten- tial suppliers with tangible commercial opportunities and lead firms to facilitate market access, standards upgrading, and capital investment interventions toward sustainable growth. Deputy Head of the IDPD Takalani Rathiyaya congrat- ulated XO Collection for their achievements.
Around 400 graduates were honoured at the inaugural Skills Development graduation recently. Picture: SUPPLIED
SOUTH REGIONAL BUSINESS FAIR
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